Friday, February 24, 2006

Lobbyists In Congress Outnumber Congresspersons And Senators By Nearly 32 to 1 Margin.

There currently registered 16,000 lobbyists in Congress right now. They outnumber the members of Congress buy nearly a 32 to 1 margin.

Even with the DP World dealings, the UAE government has hired former Republican Presidential candidate and Senator, Robert Dole as a paid lobbyist to promote the deal. Madeline Albright, former Clinton Administration official was also hired as a paid lobbyist by the UAE government to promote the DP World deal.

In Oregon, Governor Ted Kulogoski today called for a tobacco tax to help to provide all children 19 and younger with health care including dental and mental health. But in the state legislature, big tobacco lobby money was used to fight a proposal to prevent an average of nearly 900 grass and forest fires each year by mandating the sale of self-extinguishing cigarettes. After big tobacco lobby efforts, Republican Speaker Of The Oregon State House of Representatives, Karen Minnis, refused to even allow the cigarette bil to even come up for a vote. You can bet that between the health needs of Oregon's children or the power of a big lobby such as tobacco, who will come up the big winner.